#he doesn't actually mean not religious

[nottheleastbrave]

.

#okay I do not really like talking about celebrities on here #but do people not know what crisp rat means by 'not religious?' #he doesn't actually mean not religious #he's definitely still super Christian #like that's a whole thing in American evangelicalism #when I was a dumb youth group kid I used to see t-shirts and things that said stuff like #'it's a relationship not a religion' #every megachurch worship leader stumping for donald trump would say they weren't religious #truly cannot stress enough that this is a whole thing!!!!!!!! #it's just white American evangelicals putting down Catholics and mainline Protestants (but especially Catholics) #very 'well I'm a REAL Christian not like those other guys' #it's just bigotry and gatekeeping folks!!!!!!! #in this context 'religious' is used as a stand-in for any Christian religious tradition that the speaker disagrees with #'their rules are WRONG but my rules are HOLY' #(and yes obviously there are antisemitic roots to this as well but I don't feel qualified to go into that here) #but yeah it's a way white American evangelicals who are largely incredibly conservative #playact at being cool and hip #and also scapegoat all their hate on 'just a plain reading of the Bible' #(conveniently ignoring all the cultural baggage and bias they are bringing to that reading) #ANYWAY obviously this is just based on my own experience #and I do not know CP so maybe he really does mean that he's agnostic now or something #but I doubt it

[gxlden-angels]

Bro I hate fundamentalists and culturally-fundie parents they'll say shit like "spare the rod spoil the child am I right haha yea my parents used to have to beat my ass with a switch almost everyday but I sure did learn my lesson" but like??? no you didn't??? you were hit multiple times for something you very obviously did not, in fact, learn

Like studies about how harmful even lightly spanking children is aside, you're literally contradicting yourself?? Some even admitted they got worse as they got older cause they wanted to see how far they could push their parents before they got punished

And studies not aside, you're gonna get child raising advice from the same book that tells you to stone your wife if her hymen doesn't break on your wedding night instead of the decades of research we have now?? Just say you're a bad parent and move on my guy. Skill issue

#bro I had a coworker go 'unpopular opinion I think some kids really do need beatings' and I'm like???? #unprompted???? what's going on there???? #well anyways I ended up going 'yea so I plan on specializing in play therapy with autistic children so I've been learning about talking #to children and the ways their parents and environment affects them' #and they're like hmmm but beating this kid with a stick after they broke something or I upset them to the point of yelling is good actually #had a boss say it taught him and his kids respect cause they were hard-headed #and I'm like?? that's fear not respect! they fear punishment! they do not act out of respect for you! #he's a conservative christian black man tho so he's like 'But Authority!' like bro I don't even respect you what are you on about #'You don't respect police and their authority?' Nope! I fear them! I do not respect cops and every cop/cop-adjacent person I personally know #has reinforced that for me #'We'll agree to disagree' Cool! Doesn't mean you're not wrong! I could believe trees aren't real but that is in fact incorrect #then he pulled out the bible verse and I was like ah okay I forgot you like 'here's how to treat slaves' book you're so right bestie #I'm totally wrong now and so sorry for doubting you and your 2000+ year old book I don't believe in <3 #They'd go 'well I turned out fine!' then say something that directly contradicts that #anyways I need christians to get their grubby little hands off the current state of Child Protection and Rights in the U.S. #So we can actually start working on helping kids without the force of christian hands suffocating them #cause homeschooling and child raising by evangelicals are so fucked up bro I'm tired of this shit #I'd only stay in my current state to help children get out of that cycle since I'm in the bible belt #ex christian #religious trauma #child abuse tw

[agentark]

whatever you do, don't imagine a young J Corvin waiting every day at the end of their drive, hoping today is the day the mail carrier finally brings a letter from their very best friend

#i'm personally about to start sobbing #how many letters do they try sending #how long does that sweet gentle soul wait - I actually don't want to know #little too close to home frankly lmao #grandpa i don't CARE that something evil lives in fernweh and wants to eat me or control me or whatever - that's my bestie!! #I just did James's route and this part hurt so much worse #fernweh saga #like J is SO scared to ask MC if they can write this time & they're trying to be SO supportive-- #--of the fact that the last time they tried MC was going through an incredibly difficult time in their life #but that doesn't mean it didn't hurt so badly #and like it's obviously not MC's fault bc they never even got the letters in the first place #but now I want to cry thinking about how my MC hugs James at the police station when they meet again and how he's probably like ??? #my MC missed him and James is like 'weird reaction for someone who couldn't be bothered to write back' #'and shattered my little fifteen year old heart into pieces' #i'm making wild assumptions about the inner workings of J's mind here but anyway #j corvin #all i'm saying is if my best friend was ripped out of my life and I tried writing them I would be religiously checking the mailbox #probably far longer than I should but still trying to hold out hope

[araneitela]

WHICH SYMBOLIC FRUIT ARE YOU?

Cherry. (Man, this is going to need some tag rambling; because while it's what I suspected and it's very fitting in many ways, I need to address one element).

In popular culture, cherries have come to represent sensuality, sex, and seduction. In the cult classic, Twin Peaks, Audrey Horne expresses her sexual expertise by tying a cherry stem with her tongue. "Cherry" is also used to refer to the concept of virginity: why? I don't know to be honest, but here we are. Much like the cherry, you're a sensual person who enjoys all the creature comforts the world offers. You enjoy delicious food, dynamic relationships, passionate lovemaking and stimulating conversation; however, you may also come across a touch vapid or shallow, due to your quickly fading attention when something has served its usefulness to you. To quote some man on tinder: "you're here for a good time, not a long time". You can come across, at times, slightly tart, carrying a bit of a bite to you that not everyone can handle. That’s okay: you’re an acquired taste!

Tagged: @basbousah (Thank you 🩷) Tagging: I don't tend to tag for quizzes easily but this one was actually fun, so let's harass. @immobiliter (how about Furina?) @kushtibokt @genus83 @genius81 @spiderwarden @delusionaid (Wriothesley, or Zhongli— porque no los dos? 🤭) @apocryphis (Topaz) @aventvrina @resolutepath (Elio) @daybreakrising (Blade) @astrxlfinale @kahakera @cygnor @chasersglow @scrtilegii (Jing Yuan)... and anyone else who'd like to do it, say I tagged you because I'd love to see the results!

#[ games. ] the game only works when we follow the rules; though i'll be none the wiser if they're broken. let morality be your guide. #[ this has been open in a tab since yesterday. ] #[ okay but i actually /love/ this result. BUT LET ME SPECIFY-- to those who haven't read my other post. ] #[ please read 'sex' and 'seduction' through a very old fashioned lens. very old fashioned. ] #[ and then i think it's a lot more fitting. think film noir/1940s femme fatale /instead/ of the modern femme fatale and you got it. ] #[ seductive in the way that a woman can be inherently alluring. ] #[ sex in the way that it /is/ something she engages in. but in the way that one does without overindulging at all. no promiscuity. ] #[ i'm not saying religious-type 'it means everything'. but i'll forever live by that line by blade. ] #[ “she must have sought something extraordinary. everything she does comes at a great cost.” ] #[ the thing is-- he knows she lacks fear. so i don't see 'at a great cost' being a value tied to anything because of personal risk. ] #[ or fear of chasing after it. it also means something that it comes from blade. who likely also has an interesting tie to 'fear'. ] #[ but any way that means 'at a great cost' means investment/engagement (time. effort. sacrifice?) ] #[ which shows a deep rooted dedication to something. which speaks to me of a certain passion that needs to propel something like that. ] #[ and if we take passion into the equation-- then i think that fits for how she speaks and handles everything blade and tb-related. ] #[ then i also can see 'sex' very fitting. she would; when engaging in it; be incredibly all-encompassing but not in a 'dominatrix' way. ] #[ nor a traditional 'dominant' way. but simply incredibly present. engaged. passionate. ] #[ those two things can fit incredibly next to sensuality if you simply look at it from a specific lens that isn't casual and/or modern. ] #[ outside of that... dynamic relationships? ☑️ stimulating conversation? ☑️ which PLAYS INTO THE NEXT PART. ] #[ which is /yes/ she is bored. she gets bored. you /need/ to be able to stimulate her by having something of your own to interest her. ] #[ she also wouldn't/doesn't like people who serve her every whim. no. have your own interests. ] #[ as to elaborate on an acquired taste: she isn't everyone's cup of tea. if you don't have something that interests her-- you won't... ] #[ enjoy being around her. if she doesn't /like/ you. you won't think she's fun. in /that/ she's an acquired taste. ] #[ and has a bit of a bite. ]

[stedebonnit]

Just saw a post that irked me that started off by saying Aziraphale has never suffered and as someone with religious trauma and who grew up in an emotionally neglectful and chronically invalidating envrionment I want to be the first to say that suffering is not defined by rigid standards and that there's a reason neglect and manipulation are classed as forms of abuse. I didn't finish reading the post because I got really angry seeing it so I apologize if I missed context by choosing not to engage further but I just want to make it abundantly clear that suffering and abuse are not black and white concepts, and just because someone is in a space that tries to paint themselves as good doesn't mean that they are good (I mean, seriously, if you haven't learned that from this show then idk if you've even watched it), and just because someone is unable to see that their situation is abusive does not mean that they aren't suffering (and in fact people saying that reeeeally smell of "if they were abusive why didnt you just leave?" Vibes)

#d speaks #sorry for the rant #that post just really upset me #and seeing replies that were all like 'i hope aziraphale suffers next season so he knows what its like' actually made me feel sick #again i apologize if I was missing context to that post bc i didn't have the spoons to click the readmore #and I read the replies bc i hoped someone was disagreeing but no such luck #but it just really hurts to see ppl undermining emotional neglect/abuse and religious trauma like that #just bc az doesn't have the ability to see it quite as clearly #like are yall forgetting the time heaven tried to burn him in hellfire? #or the constant repetition of 'you will fail and if u question us we'll kick u out'? #oh or what about the time the angels physically assaulted him for standing up for earth? #or the way he EXPLICITLY told gabriel that he was horribly cruel before losing his memory #like just bc az made a choice u understandably dont like doesnt mean u can use it to invalidate his trauma #(and by extension the trauma of ppl who relate to him who have experienced the same shit)

[flowery-king]

Idk what type of denial I'm in but the defanged au is a fucking Philip redemption au what was I on to be constantly reassuring people it's not a redemption plot lmao open your EYES Flowery

#hits myself over the head with facts #I think a big part of it might've been because I was scared when I first thought of it?? #a big part of the fandom HATES Belos (for good reason) but also targets their hate towards people who like Belos as a character #which is pretty weird haha #I understand disliking people who try to say 'Belos is a actually just a misunderstood lil meow meow all he needed was friendship' #like bro completely deserved to be stomped to death fr let's all be honest here #but am I not allowed to like an evil character just cause?? #I like how insane this guy is with his reasoning - how he somehow thinks he's the hero in all of this LIKE #What did you have to go through or have as an example to think mass genocide is you being the hero?? #he's just such an interesting creature - I want to dissect him like a frog #It doesn't help that he's pretty too wtf where they thinking giving grampa those luscious locks - he's so fun to draw #anyway sorry to rant just think it's weird #liking a villain doesn't mean you condone their actions #also I better not see any of yall tell me I got daddy issues or religious trauma I AM WELL AWARE

[andthebeanstalk]

WHAT UP THE CONFLATION OF SUFFERING WITH LOVE IS EXTREMELY QUESTIONABLE

Tags on this post, by @saint-ambrosef and @mariposasmonarch, isolated here because they accidentally hit on EXACTLY what I think brought about my original line of thinking:

#of course christ dying wasn't “necessary” #but damn if it isnt the most visible and obvious way to show someone that you love them #a person snapping their fingers and giving you everything you wanted isn't nearly as impactful as that person willingly enduring personal #suffering in order to give it to you #thats what we mean when we say “christ died for us” #not because he strictly had to but because he wanted to show us just how far his love goes #we puny humans can know in our lowest moments that god incarnated himself to be brutally murdered #just to make his “i love you” absolutely clear #its not a guilt trip...it's reassurance in its purest form #<- YES #and if this isn’t the most beautiful and touching expression of True Love #the Selfless Love #Love which is Willing the Good for the other for no reason but just that

I disagree with this. All of it. I genuinely think that dying for someone is a shitty and stupid gift, especially when you didn't need to do it and it provides them with no tangible benefit. I think this is a dangerous and irresponsible thing to teach your children.

Martyrdom and suffering are not inherent expressions of love.

I believe in good for others for the sake of good, and kindness for the sake of kindness. But what always throws me for a loop is the Christian idea that suffering on its own is a form of good. I disagree. I disagree with my whole heart.

As a child, I was taught that the best thing I could be is Christlike. And I was Not Okay.

I lived my life ready to set myself on fire to prevent someone else from feeling a chill, and this impulse still follows me over a decade after I lost my faith. (There were other factors also, but religion played a big role in this attitude.)

It has been devastating to my health, nearly to the point of death on multiple occasions. The idea that the best and purest form of love is to suffer - It's gross. I think it's gross. I don't feel loved; I feel like if someone tortured themselves to death and then I was told to rejoice, for they did it all for me! And I'm like... oh. I didn't... ask for that?

I've lived my entire adult life without proper healthcare. I would argue that someone snapping their fingers and giving me everything I ever wanted would actually be a LOT better for me than if they suffered and died. Like, magnitudes better.

I believe that the purest form of love is to LIVE for another person.

I've done that. I do that. I've seen people suffer pain worse than death and still not die just because they loved me. And I felt loved not because they were suffering but because they were doing whatever it took to live by my side and to live in happiness.

Sacrifice is a part of love, but it is not inherently loving. It has to have a reason or it is just pure performative loss, which actually does feel like a guilt trip!

I just-- I've gotten a ton of completely different dogmatic answers today, but to me, these tags are what strikes at the heart of it all.

The idea that we need to place every single other living thing before ourselves even and perhaps especially to the point of self-destruction.

For an example, in the Catholic church, most of the Saints are martyrs! And they were taught to us like action heroes with superpowers and everything! My little sister with their childhood OCD collected cards of saints like they were Pokemon cards! Which is really cute until you consider that they were a compulsive child idolizing a pantheon of people whose defining trait was brutal self-sacrificial death. They were one of the most anxious children I've ever met.

For me, as an autistic kid, the idea that suffering was somehow inherently good helped me to endure a lot more extreme sensory pain than I otherwise would have. I was terribly proud of my ability to endure pain. But now as an adult with crippling cPTSD, I can't help but notice that none of those sacrifices I made actually helped anyone!

I don't personally believe that gods are real. But if I did, I think I'd be awfully angry at the Christian god for killing himself and having the nerve to say it was for me.

I've literally had a loved one who believed they were a burden offer to kill themselves for me. It was a heinous idea for a gift, and I told them so. They were terribly disappointed when I chose the other, much more difficult and beautiful option, which was to live for each other. Live and grow and love in the light. To plant gardens for each other and cook them into meals. To build and nurture and know. THAT is the most beautiful and sure form of love. I will accept no substitutes.

I hope someday someone shows you love in a way that feels more beautiful to you than crucifixion - literal or metaphysical. You deserve love that isn't defined by pain.

#original #religious trauma #former catholic #ex christian #suicide tw #suicidal ideation #they didn't kill themselves and they're doing a lot better now and my partner and i are so terribly proud of them #any other ex catholics reading this - your happiness matters just as much as the person next to you #you are worthy of love outside of suffering #the best way to be a good person is not through pain but through love. and those are absolutely not the same thing. #there is no greater love you could put into the world then by choosing to live in it and live kindly #I think these tags really got to me cuz they are written like they were written by me in a parallel universe where I stayed Catholic #which. hey. at least means they're well written! ;) #reminds me a lot of how Jean Valjean at the end of Les Mis sacrifices himself for no reason even tho the thing that would #ACTUALLY have been the best for cosette would be to have a not dead dad #and once you're an atheist the fact that the metaphorical light of heaven shines on his face at the end is kind of cold comfort #it is an explicitly christlike death - SO much crucifixion imagery. but also.... he didn't need to???? and he doesn't get to resurrect??

[chubs-deuce]

Me proudly posting thematically complex William Afton art that depicts my personal headcanon of him having deep seated religious trauma from childhood that defines his modus operandi in all areas of life,

from his interactions with others (neglecting of family, dishonest and outwardly cold by default)

to how he sees and holds himself (buried under layers upon layers of pretense, a maze of masks and shattered mirrors)

all the way to how he deals with problems (which is either pretending them away or running away and/or losing himself in escapism tactics until he no longer can, and once he can't run any further he goes out of his way to brute force a path around adressing them directly, only for that to backfire in his face and creating 10 more problems, and the cycle of avoidance and escalation continues yet again, now tenfold)

me realizing there's a significant amount of people misinterpreting that specific post as "William Afton kills bc he has religious trauma uwu"

#cw religious mention #cw religious trauma #fnaf #five nights at freddy's #william afton #chubs rambles #if anyone groups me in with apolgists I will bite and maim #emotional complexity =/= innocence #just because I enjoy portraying William as a feeling human being doesn't mean I'm disregarding his guilt #quite the opposite actually he 100% had everything he experienced coming deservedly #I encourage William Afton slander bc sitting in a dank room for 20 years after bleeding out isn't punishment enough actually #I just also love to explore the psyche of a person like him and the potential narrative that his plummeting mental health offers #I'm the kinda person who will empathize and philosophize about serial killers irl with tragic backstories #and then wholeheartedly cheer when they get sentenced deservedly harshly #those are sentiments that can and should coexist

[purpleisnotacolor]

The fact that Edward Elric met God and didn't ever tell Rose even when she was having a crisis of faith in front of him will forever annoy me to no end.

#I get Ed doesn't like God #but like... #they still exist??? #and you've got this woman who's like #''oh no now I'm so lost I don't have a way of knowing what's right or wrong anymore or if a God of any kind even exists'' #and he just #''K not my problem. sucks 2 b u I guess. bye'' #HELLO? #my blorbo #it's a lot harder to take FMAB's takes on religion seriously when our protag MET GOD #and just doesn't talk about it whenever a character ponders meaning or God or morality or the nature of the world #not just rose #but also scar #like... #you're not even going to tell the religious terrorist you met God? #actually that one's understandable #but after scar stops being a terrorist? #maybe tell him #I think he should tell him #I get WHY ed wouldn't tell Scar or Rose #but... #it's such a selfish and cruel decision #''I met God and I can clearly see y'all are struggling with religion but I'm not going to help you at all because I think God sucks'' #it's a very 15-year-old boy thing to do #but Ed develops and grows more after that #sooooooo #maybe tell them eventually???

[aspiringfalseidol]

So as you can guess I'm Italian and here pretty much everyone is raised catholic (yay thank you popetropolis aka Vatican city).

Anyways I am always kind of bewildered when I hear about American Christians because these guys are, like, hardcore believers lmao

Here in Churchland nobody actually believes the scriptures in a literal way, and even most practicing Catholics don't really think the old testament things happened. It's so funny seeing Americans hating Christians and remembering that in Burgerland christian basically means religious fundamentalist while here the minimum requirement to say you're christian is going to mass once a year lmao

#to clarify im not saying italy doesn't have problems linked to religious extremism #but its such a culture shock #like here your average mario identifies as christian for having communion when he was a child #while in the us identifying as christian means you think women are actually overgrown mens ribs lmao #pers

[minhoinator]

i'm getting anxious asldkjfa

#okay so idk if i've talked about my current situation much #lived in one place for seven years; despised it but didn't have the funds to move #my living situation went to shit and i saw no feasible way out aside from taking my aunt up on her offer of moving in #with her and my grandma indefinitely (aka until i could find a new job and afford to move out again) #did this so i could focus on finishing my school work and also move to this side of the state because fuck eastern WA tbh #but....now that i'm here...... #like it's nice living rent free atm especially considering there is no cashflow #however............................. #they're both extremely conservative; which is a choice but okay; religious; and homophobic (and frequently make homophobic comments) #also they have three chihuahuas of varying levels of derangement so i'm just having the time of my life here #first of all they all poop and pee in the house at wild abandon. the number of times i've stepped in it at this point is...too many #rat dog number 1: has the most annoying bark/whine combo i've ever heard and she starts the other rats on a chain reaction #rat dog number 2: actively eats the other dog's shit and like they do occasionally clean up after their dogs but??? #they also just leave paper towels covering the mess until they want to take the time to actually clean it up #rat dog number 3: is a special case. i feel sorta bad bitching about him because he was abused and raised in a meth home so like... #he's special needs but that doesn't mean he can't also be annoying #he makes a lot of the messes and also he will run around in tight circles barking for up to 15 minutes at a time #also all three of them have fleas AND GAVE THEM TO MY DOG but they won't do much of anything about it so anything i try to do for Frodo #is basically pointless #and this isn't even getting into the cooking...my aunt has like idk 40+ ingredients she's allergic to and my grandma #can't eat a lot of foods and they expect me to cook for them because i went to culinary school once upon a time #i'm tired #on top of all this; they live out in the boonies; which wouldn't be that bad of a thing because i like being up in the mountains/forest #however #I don't want to be trapped here during the winter with them because i think i would lose my grip on the fraying threads of my sanity #so i was looking for a job in town #applied to a bunch of places; got one in Portland; which is a little over an hour drive away from me atm #now; i've always wanted to live in OR; so i'm jumping on this opportunity to move #but since it's a new job; i don't have the pay stubs to apply for an apartment #and rent is so fucking high right now

[gallusrostromegalus]

I was raised agnostic and tend to remain ambiguous on theological matters.

-but my house has a porch on the second story that affords me a terrific view of my neighborhood and the Colorado Front Range and I was partaking of some peace before the 4th Of July Finger-Loss Festivities begin, and I have had a

~*Spiritual Experience*~

I just watched my neighbor try to unload an actual wooden pallet that had to have been forklifted into the back of his insecurity pickup worth of fireworks.

Except that he does not have a forklift in his garage.

He does have so much sports memorabilia and cardboard boxes of unsold MLM Merchandise and patriotically themed camping gear and posters of women in bikinis and flags of suspect political organizations in his garage that there is only BARELY enough space for the fireworks and certainly none for his truck.

So he had to unload the individual boxes of recreational explosives from the back of his truck and stack them in the minimal space he had cleared by hand. This is a tedious and time-consuming process as this neighbor has purchased a wide variety of recreational and locally illegal explosives instead of many of just a few types, so the individual boxes are rather small.

He begins, and this is crucial to what happens next, by cutting apart the industrial-grade saran wrap his explosives dealer had so carefully wrapped his merchandise in, and discarded it unsecured on his lawn.

Where Outdoor Conditions sometimes happen.

His process for unloading the fireworks is to 1. Climb up through the gate into the bed of his pickup truck (a feat made unusually difficult due to the slope of his driveway, and this man's fascinating decision to wear the world's Siffest and least Flexible Denim Overalls. 2. Once in the pickup bed, he selects ONE (1) box from the pile He is apparently from a niche religious institution that doesn't believe in stacking things. 3. Carries it awkwardly around the palette that barely fits in the truck bed 4. His wife yells "Be careful!" when he nearly falls out of the pickup. 5. He Yells "SHADDUP!" back at her. 6. The Large German Shepherd barks from inside the house. 7. He yells "SHADDUP!" back at her too. 8. He sets the (1) box down on the gate 9. Slowly and awkwardly climbs out of the pickup bed 10. picks the box back up, and carries it into the garage.

Question: Aren't you going to help this poor man? Answer: Absolutely Not.

There's four military veterans, MANY dogs, and several people with dementia in this neighborhood, all of whom are terrified by this chicanery every year and many neighbors have repeatedly asked him to maybe do the fireworks somewhere else. (This is the Eighth Year Running he's held a major demolition event in his driveway, and for those of you who can do math, you may be able to guess the precipitating incident to this little ritual) Additionally, I live in Colorado, a state marginally less prone to spontaneous and catastrophic conflagrations than a rotting grain silo, but only marginally. Our recreational explosives laws are written accordingly.

I am in fact calling the Non Emergency line to report Fireworks violations, and reading off the brand labels to someone named Dorothy, who is gleefully totaling up a SPECTACULAR fine for my oblivious neighbor.

However, while I'm on the phone with Dorothy, I notice the wind begin to pick up. and by "Notice" I mean "The Industrial Saran Wrap he left on his Lawn earlier is suddenly swept up about 100 feet into the air by an updraft intense enough to make my ears pop" And by "Pick Up" I mean "I look up to see the sky has turned a fun and exciting shade of glass green, and the bottoms of the clouds are bumpy and rounded, and the overall effect is not unlike looking up through the bottom of the cup at God's Matcha Boba Tea."

For those of you who do not live in places with Inclement Weather, these conditions mean "You have about 30 seconds before a Major Meteorological Event Occurs."

I move under the eaves. "Hang on Dorothy." I say, nose filling with Petrichor. "The show is about to be cancelled." "Oh, that doesn't matter!" Dorothy cheerfully informs me. "It's illegal for him just to possess those, no matter if he actually gets to set them off or not." "Terrific, because he's gotten maybe five boxes out of a hundred inside."

Sometimes, the weather gods are Merciful and give you a verbal warning, typically in the kind of thunderclap that makes your ears ring.

The Gods were not merciful today.

It's not often that I am in the time, place, correct angle or in a properly observational frame of mind to see this, But I got to see it today. Huh. I thought. I've never seen a cloud just DIVE for the ground before. Oh. I realized as it got closer. That's RAIN.

Sometimes, a thunderstorm will form in such a way that the rain that would normally be distributed over an area of say, five to tent square miles, is instead concentrated into an area of say, my neighborhood exactly.

So today, I was granted the rare privilege of being able to actually see the literal wall of water descend from On High and DIRECTLY onto my porch, my street, and my neighbor's truck, and his pile of unwrapped fireworks.

The sheer impact force of the downpour immediately scatters the teetering pile of fireworks boxes in the back of the truck, like the wrath of God striking down the tower of Babel. Boxes tumble, then are washed out of the bed of the truck by the deluge. Smaller Boxes are carried down the road in a little line by the stream forming in the gutter, like little impotent explosive ducklings.

My neighbor was definitely yelling something, but I could not hear what over the DEAFENING noise several million gallons of water makes upon high-speed contact with the earth's surface, but there was a lot of arm-waving and faces turning red as he went looking for the saran wrap that had probably blown to Nebraska by now, while his wife started disassembling the complex three-dimensional puzzle of interlocking material goods in search of a tarp. They do not have a tarp. They have one of those wretched Thin Blue Line flags though, and my neighbor jogs out in a futile effort to cover what's left in the truck.

Which is when the hail begins.

"HELLO?" Yelled Dorothy. "HI!" I shouted. "WE'RE HAVING SOME WEATHER!" "OH GOOD!" she shouts back. "WE NEED THE MOISTURE!"

I watch for a minute longer, but the loss was immediate and catastrophic- the hail is the size of marbles and dense and cares not for your pitiful cardboard and cellophane, ripping the boxes asunder and punching holes in the few things covered in plastic. The colors on the Thin Blue Line Flag are seeping all over the remains of that it was supposed to protect in a particularly apt visual metaphor. Not even the few boxes that made it into the garage are spared, as the German Shepherd escapes from indoors, and in an attempt to assist her humans, jumps directly into the small stack of not-yet-ruined boxes, scattering them into the driveway and deluge. She even picks one up so her humans will chase her around the yard, before dropping it in the gutter to be swept away.

So. I was raised Agnostic -but even I can recognize when God slaps someone upside the head and shouts "NO!" at them.

---

(If you laughed, please consider supporting my Ko-fi or preordering my book of Strange Stories on Patreon)

#Family Lore #Long Post #Local Man Experiences Local Weather

[bottomoftheriverbed]

Both sides of my family view religion as an incredibly personal thing so even if they're religious they tend not to talk about it a lot and church attendance is very much not mandatory and there is no greater example of this than the fact that we don't actually know whether or not my dad was baptised. He has an invitation to his uncle asking to be his godfather so we know what church he would have been baptised in (interestingly it's an anglican church in his mother's hometown rather than his local church - presumably a compromise between my (anglican) grandfather and my (baptist) great grandmother) but because his uncle hasn't signed it we're not actually a 100% sure he was in fact baptised.

#my paternal grandfather went to church regularly by all accounts but my paternal grandmother apparently wouldn't step foot in a church #except for weddings and funerals which is presumably one of the reasons why my dad doesn't know if he was baptised #her mother was incredibly religious though and did live with them for some years. she was a baptist but had to go to the Methodist church #because there wasn't a baptist church near them (she was actually born Methodist but presumably became baptist when shw married) #because from what i can gather from newspapers my great grandfather's family were baptist #trying to track the denomination of that side of the family is hard they were and i say this with the greatest respect very welsh #interestingly my maternal grandfather is also a methodist i have no idea whether he's still religious but he obviously was at some point #because he converted and his father was a c of e lay preacher. my grandmother is just kind of non denominational #she's very religious she was born Lutheran but she went to a Catholic school (it was private so i assume it's because it was being paid for #by her mother's polish employer) and now tbh i don't think she really believes in organised religion #god yes jesus yes the church not really #but when my mum went to church as a kid it was to a Methodist church and my parents married in a Methodist church #if i ever were to go to church it would likely be Methodist so I'd say my family religious background is methodist #but because my family is not really practicing in that way my personal religious background is cofe #because it comes from my very religious primary and to a lesser extent secondary school #and all of that means fuck all if you aren't a protestant

[draggeddowntothedark]

🍾 Anderson, what if I told you god is real and you can beat them up?

Send 🍾 + a question for my muse to answer your question while drunk.

"Heh, I'd say come at me!" Anderson laughed. "That might make me an awful Catholic, but I'd love to have a good brawl with the man upstairs!"

#fun fact: this is why Anderson's actually a solid exorcist- he has faith #my canon you gotta have some kind of faith to exorcise demons. This doesn't mean it HAS to be faith in Christian God #it has to be some kind of faith though and religious faith is the most common route #questions answered;asks #;the father in the book

[coraniaid]

I don't think I believe that people in Sunnydale High School think of the Scooby Gang as "Buffy Summers and her weird friends".

I mean, yes, they know Buffy is (more than) a bit weird and has a history of violence, and they know that she's often at the center of lots of strange things that happen in the school. But if you forget what you know about vampires and the Slayer and look at the dynamics and personal histories of that group from the outside, there's exactly one person who connects them all together. And it's not the (ex?) arsonist and (ex?) gang member who recently transferred to Sunnydale from LA.

Everyone in Sunnydale High seems to know Willow Rosenberg, and everyone knows she's a huge nerd who (A) love libraries and (B) has something of a history of either tutoring (e.g. Rodney Muson) or otherwise hanging out with (e.g. Shelia Martini) some of the school's more violent and dangerous elements.

There's Xander Harris, Willow's best friend since kindergarten (and who, unlike Willow, doesn't really seem to have many other friends at all after Jesse mysteriously vanishes)

There's the (weirdly religious?) ex-aronist from LA who Willow seems to be tutoring in the library a lot (see B above) or who she's possibly recruited as muscle. Sheila and Rodney both mysteriously went missing one day too, so people aren't that surprised when Buffy does herself at the end of junior year.

There's the English librarian (see A above) that anyone who has seen Willow's locker knows Willow has a crush on

There's the computer science teacher that anyone who has been in class with knows Willow also has a crush on, who sometimes has Willow come in to class to help her run sessions for remedial students on the weekends and whose job Willow (somehow) takes over when she dies

There's Cordelia Chase, who Willow has a whole historical Thing with, probably going back to when they were little kids themselves. People say Willow hates her but they're always hanging out together (there's a persistent rumor that they once spent a whole night together in a closet, if you know what I mean) and Willow helped run her campaign for Homecoming Queen. Cordelia was secretly dating Willow's friend for a bit and some people say Willow was really, really upset when she found out; read into that what you will.

There's the mysterious older guy in a band who doesn't talk much and that Willow is apparently actually dating. (This isn't the same older guy in a band Cordelia was dating, but oddly enough it is the same band.) A few kids swear they've seen him naked and locked up in the library at night.

There are (again, from the outside) people like Willow's childhood friend Amy and Amy's friend Michael, who people might remember were once being investigated by the police for ritual murder before Amy mysteriously vanished

To the outside eye, the Scooby Gang are Willow Rosenberg and her weird friends.

(A lot of kids swear that one time they saw her hold the whole Bronze hostage and rip a girl's throat out with her teeth, but of course Principal Snyder hushed it all up and she was back at school the next day. He really doesn't want to have to hire a new computer science teacher this year.)

#btvs

[fuckyeahisawthat]

There are so many places in the Villeneuve Dune adaptations where he just...takes all the narrative pieces that Frank Herbert laid out and subtly rearranges them into something that tells the story better--that creates dramatic tension where you need it, communicates the themes and message of the book more clearly, or corrects something in the text that contradicts or undermines what Herbert said he was trying to say.

The fedaykin are probably my favorite example of this. I just re-read a little part of the book and got smacked in the face with how different they are.

(under the cut for book spoilers and length)

The fedaykin in the book are Paul's personal followers, sort of his personal guard. They show up after his legend has already started growing (the word doesn't appear in the book until chapter 40) and they are people who have specifically dedicated themselves to fighting for him, and right from the moment they're introduced there is a kind of implied fanaticism to their militancy that's a bit uncomfortable to read. They're the most ardent believers in Paul's messianic status and willing to die for him. (They are also, as far as you can tell from the text, all men.)

In the book, as far as I can remember (I could be forgetting some small detail but I don't think so) there is no mention of armed resistance to colonialism on Arrakis before Paul shows up. As far as we know, he created it. ETA: Okay I actually went back and checked on this and while we hear about the Fremen being "a thorn in the side" of the Harkonnens and we know that they are good fighters, we don't see anything other than possibly one bit of industrial sabotage. The book is very clear that the organized military force we see in the second half was armed and trained by Paul. This is exacerbated by the two-year time jump in the book, which means we never see how Paul goes from being a newly deposed ex-colonial overlord running for his life to someone who has his own private militia of people ready to give their lives for him.

The movie completely flips all these dynamics on their head in ways that add up to a radical change in meaning.

The fedaykin in the movie are an already-existing guerrilla resistance movement on Arrakis that formed long before Paul showed up. Literally the first thing we learn about the Fremen, less that two minutes into the first movie, is that they are fighting back against the colonization and exploitation of their home and have been for decades.

The movie fedaykin also start out being the most skeptical of the prophecy about Paul, which is a great choice from both a political and a character standpoint. Of course they're skeptical. If you're part of a small guerrilla force repeatedly going up against a much bigger and stronger imperial army...you have to believe in your own agency. You have to believe that it is possible to win, and that this tiny little chip in the armor of a giant terrifying military machine that you are making right now will make a difference in the end. These are the people who are directly on the front lines of resisting oppression. They are doing it with their own sweat, blood and ingenuity, and they are not about to wait around for some messiah who may never come.

From a character standpoint, this is really the best possible environment you could put Paul Atreides in if you want to keep him humble. He doesn't get any automatic respect handed to him due to title or birthright or religious belief. He has to prove himself--not as any kind of savior but as a good fighter and a reliable member of a collective political project. And he does. This is an environment that really draws out his best qualities. He's a skilled fighter; he's brave (sometimes recklessly so); he's intensely loyal to and protective of people he cares about. He is not too proud to learn from others and work hard in an egalitarian environment where he gets no special treatment or extra glory. The longer he spends with the fedaykin the more his allegiance shifts from Atreides to Fremen, and the more skeptical he himself becomes about the prophecy. This sets up the conflict with Jessica, which comes to a head before she leaves for the south. And his political sincerity--that he genuinely comes to believe that these people deserve liberation from all colonial forces and his only role should be to help where he can--is what makes the tragedy work. Because in the end we know he will betray all these values and become the exact thing he said he didn't want to be.

There's another layer of meaning to all this that I don't know if the filmmakers were even aware of. ETA: rescinding my doubt cause based on some of Villeneuve's other projects I'm pretty sure he could work it out. Given the time period (1960s) and Herbert's propensity for using Arabic or Arabic-inspired words for aspects of Fremen culture, it seems very likely that the made-up word fedaykin was taken from fedayeen, a real Arabic word that was frequently used untranslated in American news media at the time, usually to refer to Palestinian armed resistance groups.

Fedayeen is usually translated into English as fighter, guerrilla, militant or something similar. The translation of fedaykin that Herbert provides in Dune is "death commando"...which is a whole bucket of yikes in my opinion, but it's not entirely absurd if we're assuming that this fake word and the real word fedayeen function in the same way. A more literal translation of fedayeen is "self-sacrificer," as in willing, intentional self-sacrifice for a political cause, up to and including sacrificing your life.

If you apply this logic to Dune, it means that Villeneuve has actually shifted the meaning of this word in-universe, from fighters who are willing to sacrifice themselves for Paul to fighters who are willing to sacrifice themselves for their people. And the fedaykin are no longer a group created for Paul but a group that Paul counts himself as part of, one member among equals. Which is just WILDLY different from what's in the book. And so much better in my opinion.

#dune #dune part two #adaptation #paul atreides #fedaykin